The Final Chapter

All too soon, the week was up. There weren't any repeats of harassment from Derrick, who stayed clear of Courtney and the whole group the rest of the trip, Chris seemingly kept his promise about not filming them, and Courtney and Gwen were back on good terms… Courtney let out a satisfied sigh as she gazed over the now-empty resort. The soft light of the morning sun kissed nearly everything with a milky-golden shade and the scent of hibiscus and rhododendron filled Courtney's nose with their flowery scent.

The brunette let out another sigh and then began to stroke Duncan's shorn head, resting peacefully in her lap. The poor Punker was not at all accustomed to rising early, and after claiming a seat next to her in the boat's air conditioned interior, promptly fell back to sleep while half-curled in her lap. She noticed he gave a deep, contented grunt once her fingers found their way to his Mohawk.

She missed this with Duncan when he was gone. This kind of closeness, that didn't need words to express it, was what Courtney had craved when she'd lost it. Because she'd never found anything like this until Duncan came along, cocky and jerky and so willing to accept, for all his "toughness".

After Gwen's honesty and Duncan's confession, Courtney found herself willing and eager to try again. She wanted so badly to fix this, to make it right again, because even though she was young, she honestly couldn't see herself with anyone else. It wasn't the green hair, it wasn't the blue eyes, it wasn't the piercings that her Punker hers; it was what he so unselfishly gave to her that made him endearing to her.

Courtney gazed down at her sleeping delinquent and bent to give him a kiss. Duncan grunted in his sleep again and opened one perfect blue eye. "Whatcha thinking about, Princess?" He mumbled as he lifted one large hand to stroke Courtney's cheek gently.

"You," She murmured softly to him, placing a hand over his. "Us."

"I want there to always be an 'us'," Duncan whispered sleepily, gazing lovingly into her black eyes.

"Me too," Courtney kissed his calloused palm before leaning over and kissing his again. In that moment, both knew that whatever came their way; fighting, college, parents, marriage… Their relationship was stronger now, built on new trust and willing forgiveness, and they loved each other more. And for the moment, that was all that ever matter or ever would matter again.

I am sooo sorry that it took so long to get this up. School has been a pain in the kiester.

Yes, the final chapter :'( I'll miss writing it, but after this comes the multi-chapter Dawn X Scott fic. So please wait for me, my lovelies- I'll soon write again. Thanks for all the reviews and favs and watches, it really means a lot ;)